Ladies and gentlemen, meet Tony Kushner. Since the breakthrough in the early 1990s of his two-part epic, Angels in America — subsequently made into a hit miniseries — Kushner has emerged as one of the country’s leading playwrights. With his cutting wit and penchant for uncomfortable opinions, Kushner has earned a Pulitzer, an Emmy and two Tony Awards — and a reputation that runs the gamut from charming to demanding to unpredictable.

Yet the man portrayed in Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner is resolutely upbeat, productive, at ease with himself and tender with family and friends. Kushner can even be described as amazingly relaxed for someone whose days are a blur of disparate activities united by his drive both to “speak the truth” and to succeed as an artist — never mind being a gay progressive who grew up in the South.

sunday arts footer

SundayArts is made possible in part by First Republic Bank and by the Rubin Museum of Art. Funding for SundayArts is also made possible by Rosalind P. Walter, The Paul and Irma Milstein Foundation, The Philip & Janice Levin Foundation, Elise Jaffe and Jeffrey Brown, Jody and John Arnhold, and The Lemberg Foundation. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional funding provided by members of THIRTEEN.